The lawsuit was filed last December by CBS and Paramount against the makers of Star Trek: Axanar - a feature-length fan-made film which was being funded via Kickstarter and had already raised $638,000 (NZD $943,000).

They claimed the film infringed upon "innumerable copyrighted elements of Star Trek, including its settings, characters, species, and themes". Fans revolted, causing a PR nightmare - particularly with the new film due to release in July.

However, now that the suit's been dropped, Abrams says fans have director Justin Lin to thank.

"Justin was sort of outraged by this as a longtime fan. We started talking about it and realized this wasn't an appropriate way to deal with the fans," he said.

"The fans of Star Trek are part of this world. We went to the studio and pushed them to stop this lawsuit. Within a few weeks, it'll be announced that this lawsuit is going away."

At the same event, fans were treated to a celebration of Star Trek's 50th anniversary, a tribute to Leonard Nimoy and a new trailer for Star Trek Beyond. You can watch the clip here: